RomanPunks is a retrofuturistic, cyberpunk derivative world-building project inspired by fine art, history and the cryptopunk movement.
A total of 1,000 RomanPunk characters have been frozen in time and minted as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum, WAX, Polygon and Algorand blockchains.
RomanPunk characters are comprised of commoners and famous individuals based on Roman history, art history and pop culture.
The basis for RomanPunk lore and backstories is exhaustively researched by history/sci-fi buff and co-founder, Punktavian.
All images are drawn by hand by woman artist and co-founder, Cleopunktra, without the aid of AI or generative tools.
RomanPunks came into existence through early minting on OpenSea, promoting on Twitter and building a Discord community through giveaways and engagement. The idea of a cyberpunk-derivative ‘RomanPunk’ theme was in our heads for years, but it was the success of the Cryptopunks that became the catalyst for project conception and launch.
After a hard working first 60 days spent networking and attracting new collectors to RomanPunks, our community had begun to flourish and sales increased. We began to offer our collectors an opportunity to battle their NFTs in a tournament bracket powered by dice rolls.
Encouraged by the tight knit community and the carbon-neutral blockchain with lightning fast and low cost transactions, we launched 'romanpunksio' collection on WAX Blockchain as the first step to expand the backstories of our RomanPunk characters and the baseline for future development of a card game.
RomanPunks integrated with Chainlink Labs to utilize VRF (Verified Randomness Function) to host a giveaway raffle for our holders. We developed a smart contract on Ethereum which guarantees true random number selection on chain and can be used for a wide range of functions that require random selection.
After much anticipation in the community, we released our first WAX NFT card 'pack' through the Neftyblocks platform, which sold out in less than a week.
We launched our Twitch channel and begun building an audience by offering numerous giveaways of WAX NFTs from our collection, as well as giving participants a chance to win RomanPunk ETH NFT airdrops for taking top spot at the end of the 'season'.
As firm believers in a metaverse future and land owners in The Sandbox, we undertook to build the RomanPunk Colosseum on 1x1 land and entered our experience "Gladiator Bloodsport" into a GameJam contest. We will continue to build the Colosseum into a PVP arena and social hub once The Sandbox offers creators the ability to do so.
Thanks to the user friendly tools offered by NeftyBlocks, we launched a comprehensive blending system on WAX, allowing our collectors to blend the common NFTs they earn in our Discord RPG up into Legendary famous NFTs through the use of blending 'coins' that can also be earned on the Discord as reward for helping to promote the RomanPunks project.
We launched the VX collection on Polygon. Each owner of an ETH NFT gets their voxel equivalent airdropped to them, and these NFTs can be redeemed for official NFTs on The Sandbox Marketplace once available.
All 1,000 original, unique 1:1 RomanPunk characters hand drawn by Cleopunktra and minted on OpenSea.
The RomanPunk WAX NFT Trading Card Fighter Pack Series II consists of 3 NFTs randomly selected from over 236 characters.
Upcoming plans for RomanPunks include:
Below is a comprehensive and searchable directory of all 1,000 RomanPunk Characters.
Born in 168 BC in Patara, Ulix and his sister Anteia were recalcitrant grave robbers who discovered an interdimensional portal in the Harpy Tomb and were transported to an atomic age parallel universe where they were captured and forced to fight as gladiators.
Born 2015 AD in Cagliari, Sienna is a free-spirited navigator with a deep love for the sea and folklore. Seeking adventure beyond her coastal roots, she joined her lover, Kael Adrien, on a voyage across the Tyrrhenian Sea. An interdimensional whirlpool transported them to an alternate Roman realm ruled by sentient apes. In this bewildering world, Sienna must rely on her courage and resourcefulness to navigate a society where humans are oppressed. Forming secret alliances and using her knowledge of ancient lore, she challenges the dominant ape hierarchy alongside Kael, striving to survive and find a path back home.
Born 22 BC in Colonia, a soldier and concubine of Arminius, Avis’ army detachment was overrun by hordes of the walking dead after massacring Roman legions at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD.
Born 2182 AD in Naissus, Rada runs an antique photo booth shop in Neo-Carthage’s souk. Armed with a vintage Hasselblad and a closet of outfits spanning millennia, she offers customers a chance to step into another era. But rumors swirl that her collection isn’t just for show—some say she holds a device for interdimensional travel, turning her shop into a refuge for outlaws, exiles, and time-stranded wanderers. Rada remains as inscrutable as her wares, guarding her secrets behind a wry smile and a haze of smoke.
Born 2067 AD in Scandia, when Runa is not working at a lumber mill crafting Doric columns out of fir, ze performs stand-up comedy mocking gods and emperors; however, one scathing joke about Nero got zir exiled to the asteroid 4660 Nereus where ze toils and provides comic relief at an ore mining colony.
Born in 242 AD in Mediolanum, Alexa Servilianus quickly rose through the ranks of Emperor Aurelian’s legion in Germany after stepping into a dimension portal in Lake Como and returning equipped and skilled with the lightsaber.
Born 288 AD, Scout was born to parents exiled to Britannia after their defeat by Probus in 278 AD. Having won multiple archery contests, she was captured by time traffickers from a Romanesque 20th century AD alternate dimension to compete as a shopping mall gladiator.
Born in 507 AD in the shadow of Carthage, Zeno is celebrated not for valour in battle but for his deft avoidance of it. A slacker and draft dodger, he shirked military duties, only to be caught in the Byzantine tide that brutally sacked his city. Seized by Belisarius’s legions, he was dispatched to the endless hemp fields of North Africa, a punishment he secretly relishes.
Born 211 BC in Gades, Quique was enslaved as a gladiator for rebelling against the governor. His massive size & popularity influenced scouts from 28th century AD to press Quique into service at a futuristic cybercolosseum.
Born in 157 AD in Singidunum to a patrician family with an abusive father, Bruttia fled to Asia as a teenager to where she learned the way of the samurai. On her return home, she was captured and forced to fight as a gladiator in Pula.
Born 141 AD in Rome, Acquilina is a loyal temple guard who is always on the lookout for her troublesome sister, Eleanora, who frequently sneaks through the interdimensional portal in search of a good party.
Roland, born 389 AD in Burdigala, was an optio in the legion before his capture by the invading Visigoths who sentenced him to pass through an interdimensional portal to a Romanesque 1987 AD where he fights as a shopping mall gladiator.
Born 1113 AD in Cemenelum in an alternate steampunk dimension, Marina is a wreck diver and sailor on the Aqua Aeterna, the world’s first steam-powered submarine, whose mission is to find the lost city of Atlantis. Guided by the clues left by Plato and Seneca, the ship’s crew ventured into the Aztec Gulf, where Marina uncovered an interdimensional portal nestled on the ocean floor.
Born 2159 AD in Luxor-Thebes, Tim is a battle-hardened mercenary centurion, veteran of the brutal Dacian Vampire Wars and direct descendant of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar. Now, he fights for the Nabataean Red Sands Syndicate, backing a cloned Hannibal Barca’s insurrection against Neo-Carthage’s corrupt governor and the cyborg Emperor Caligula. Leading a ragtag crew of gladiators and charioteers, Tim helps orchestrate the siege on Neo-Carthage, while Hannibal’s underground forces sow chaos within the city. Guided by profit, Tim’s loyalty is always to the highest bidder, making him a dangerous yet predictable player in the uprising.
Born 2178 AD in Toletum, Velia is a descendant of King Alaric I, though she finds that about as useful in Neo-Carthage as a souvenir from a forgotten war. A wealthy socialite with a penchant for the morbid, Velia moves through the city’s elite circles with detached amusement. While rebellions and smuggling rings swirl around her, she drifts through it all, unintentionally entangling herself in minor scandals—never quite realizing how close she comes to chaos.
